The Awakening
by Curatenshi
Summary: This is my ending to the trilogy. It contains my predictions of the nature of the characters in the novel. Please enjoy. Tory has found himself at the center of the Gaia project, and has found the truth. But what shall he do about it?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to my fanfic

Hello everyone, and welcome to my fanfic. It takes place right after the second volume ( after that coolio punching scene ;) ).

I based my fic around my theories about the truth behind all of the characters. This is my own ending to the OffBeat Trilogy.

Thanks for taking the time to read my work, enjoy.

Just so you know, it is labeled Chapter Thirteen because volume two ends with Twelve, and this is supposed to be the continuation

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Chapter Thirteen. The Collapse

The sounds of the book striking the asphalt seemed to echo in his mind, combining with the shock of what had just happened.

Colin looked at him with a face full of disbelief, as if he could not comprehend what had just happened.

"I….have to go." Colin mumbled out, turning once again away from Tory, and moving towards his house.

"W-wait!" Tory stammered. He once again grabbed Colin's arm. "This can't be over, we aren't done he-

"I said let Let g-!" before Colin could finish his sentence he doubled over into one of his fits, coughing uncontrollably.

As Tory began to reach down to help him, Colin weakly swiped at him, missing completely, and sending him deeper into a crouch, huddling around his legs, and crouching into a ball, as his coughs racked his body.

Tory felt hope stir as Colin began to stop coughing, and watched as his body began to relax, only to have it drain away as Colin's eyes closed, and he stopped moving completely.

"Colin…..Colin? Colin! Wake up!" Tory began to yell, panic taking over his mind, "You have to wake up, if you get cold out here while you are asleep you could be in serious trouble." Tory looked around erratically, not sure what to do. _It's getting late, mom probably won't be home until after five, but every minute I stay out increases the chance of her coming home to an empty house_. _I have to act quickly_.

Tory looked around, and seeing no one, reached down and got his arms under Colin. He lifted him up, surprised that he could, and noted how light Colin was. _It must be because he is always so sick._ He knew he shouldn't be thinking about these kind of things at this time, but his brain was working on overdrive.

Tory walked the short distance to Colin's house within a few minutes, even with Colin's weight, but it felt like an eternity. _What am I doing?! I can't just waltz up to Dr. Garretts with Colin in my arms. But what else can I do...Colin obviously doesn't want to deal with a hospital, he does anything to avoid calling attention to whatever he has. I guess we just have to see what happens._

As Tory arrived at the single outside door, he steeled himself for the worst. _What if he thinks I did this? Wait, then why would I bring him here? And this seems sort of normal for Colin...right? Ahh! I just need to do it!_ He quickly struck out with his thumb, slamming the doorbell before he could lose his courage. For a few moments nothing happened, and all Tory could here was the somehow distant ringing of the bell, a chilling note that sent a shiver down his spine.

Then, the door opened, and there before him stood Dr. Garretts, seemingly unsurprised by the picture, but obviously disapproving.

Dr. Garretts, after taking a look around turned his back to Tory, and said, talking over his shoulder "Well, come in, I think it's about time we straightened this problem out."

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Please review, I look forward to your input. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Doctor

Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter two of my story. Again, I will explain that since this would be the second chapter of the third volume, it would actually be Chapter 14.

Please read and review :D.

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Chapter 14 – The Doctor

"Sit down, sit down, Colin may look in danger, but I can assure you, he will be fine, just give him some time." Dr. Garretts poured himself a cup of tea from the teapot resting on the table before sitting himself. The flowery scent of chamomile teased Tory's nose. Garretts turned once again to Tory who had taken residence on the couch next to Colin. "I believe it's time that you put your cards on the table young man. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is you who has been taking up so much of Colin's time. Valuable time I might add."

They were sitting in a room that felt cold as ice. The only pieces of furniture were the couch that Tory and Colin were sitting on, the chair the doctor occupied, and a small table between them. The walls were a subtle gray, the couch and chair made of black leather, and the table, or what could be seen of it under the papers strewn on its surface, was a dark mahogany. The only redeeming quality of the room was that the carpet was thick and soft, giving Tory silent support in the alien environment.

Apprehension swelled within him, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. After taking a few moments to calm down and focus on what exactly he wanted to ask Dr. Garretts, Tory once again found his tongue. "Valuable how sir? We were working on his studies. Isn't that time spent well?"

"Don't give me that. You and I both know that he has very important duties to carry out. Colin might believe in your ignorance of our project, but I know that any good spy doesn't commit his entire knowledge to something so simple as ink and paper. You know much more than that journal let on."

"Look, I have no idea what either of you are talking about!" Tory was getting tired of being treated like some kind of enemy combatant. "I am not working for anyone, ok? You guys might think I am, but I am really just interested in Colin because…." Tory trailed off, confused. _What _am _I doing this for_ _anyway_? _I have the perfect chance to talk to Dr. Garretts, learn about Gaia, and I am wasting it_. His eyes lighted on Colin, and quickly turned away. _What has happened to me? This isn't just about the mystery anymore, is it?_ "I don't know why. I guess it started because you two just don't make sense. You have a giant apartment for two people, your numbers were hidden, Colin commutes to a school far away for no good reason, and you two are just impossible to figure out!" With the last of his explanation falling into silence, Tory sat back into the couch and felt his hand touch Colin's hair. The contact let him find his center, and once again think logically. _Why did that all come out? This is getting out of control. I need to force the issue away from me._ "So, why don't you fill me in? What **is** going on around here?"

Dr. Garretts sat very still and looked piercingly at Tory, as if he was judging the truth of his words. His eyes softened. "You really aren't working for anyone, are you? And you don't know what we are doing here….what Colin is doing here." Once again Dr. Garretts stared at Tory, inspiration flashing in his eyes. "If you have found all of this out by yourself, without any incentive, maybe you can be of use to us. I should have known. Colin's instincts are almost never wrong. Very well, come with me."

"Wait! Where are we going?" Tory scrambled to get up, causing his arm to slide down Colin's hair and rest on his forehead for an instant, making him blush, before he continued to stand up. "And what about Colin?"

"I told you already," Dr. Garretts explained, as if to a simpleton, "Colin will be fine. As to where we are going," he pointed towards the stairs, "why, we are going to the top floor. To The Gaia Project."

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	3. Chapter 3

Hi again. I am sorry for the length of time between chapters. I have two jobs right now, and only recently have they both lagged up a bit, or at least enough to write. I am also working on changing Chapters one and two so that the story makes them flow more smoothly, by making them from the perspective of Tory. This would be Chapter 3 of the book, but Chapter 15 of the series.

Thank you all for your patience.

Chapter 15 – The Truth

As we came to the top of the stairs, Dr. Garretts turned around towards me. "When I said we were going to The Gaia Project, I meant more that we were going to where we experiment with it. This room doesn't contain the actual project, but it is where we do most of our testing."

I looked around slowly, noting the contents of the room, and the room itself. It was a stark white room, but absolutely covered in plants. The plants were beautiful, all lined up in rows near each other, but separated enough to be able to distinguish where one group of plants ended and another began. There were tons of air vents along the walls and all over the floor. While there were no visible windows, I could see that many of the ceiling tiles had hinges and looked as if they could be swung open. There was a giant sink in the corner, with multiple basins and faucets, presumably used to water all of the plants. Hoses ran under the tables, coming up from holes in the floor seemingly to avoid tripping people walking the isles.

"So, what do you think? Amazing, no? All of these plants require different amounts of sunlight. Some of them would never be able to survive outside of their indigenous habitats, not without our project." He pointed into the far left corner. "Those plants are from Mexico, a rare specimen called Mexipedium Xerophyticum," Dr. Garretts continued his monologue on the different floral life in the room. "Next to them are the Cintia knizei from Bolivia."

As Dr. Garretts continued his speech, my mind wandered as I contemplated the reality of the project. The orchids Dr. Garretts had identified as the Mexipedium Xerophyticum were but a few yards from the cacti that he had named Cintia knizei. In between and all around them were flowers from roses, which I knew required at least six hours of direct sunlight a day, to ferns which needed little to none, thriving in filtered sunlight and humid conditions. I knew some botany, but not to the extent which Dr. Garrets did, so much of the speech was wasted on me. As I regard the air vents again I noticed Dr. Garrets was winding down for lack of specimens to point out.

"These are all examples of what The Gaia Project can do," Dr. Garrets finished, a smile spreading over his face. "At first all we tried to do was grow plants indoors that preferred outdoor life. Not something entirely unheard of. After all, we have greenhouses, controlled environments where we can make the perfect accommodations for almost any kind of plant life," Dr. Garrets began walking down the isles of plants, his expression the most open and gentle I had seen on his face thus far. "Soon we started growing plants with different needs together, not just in the same room, but next to each other and again we found success. We kept building on that, adding more plants, varied climates, all the corners of the world, brought together here," Dr. Garrets passion was burning within his eyes as he looked at the plants, his small history of the Gaia Project seemingly at its end.

"But why does it matter? Even if this project could make plants of all kinds live in different conditions, why keep everything so secret? What is it about the project that you can't share with the world?" _And why does Colin have to be a part of all of this?_

"I should think that's fairly obvious, because it isn't some gadget that's done all of this, it isn't something we are selling-" Dr. Garretts broke off at the sound of feet on the stairs, and turned towards the door we had just come up.

And then I saw him, for the first time completely at ease, standing in the threshold of the door. _I've never seen him look so...happy before._

Colin walked in with a small smile on his face, and gently touched one of the more beautiful plants before turning back towards us. "The reason that this has to be kept a secret, Tory, is because the project isn't just about the plants. It's about the earth, it's about us being affected by the earth, and affecting it back. Or I guess I should say, it's about me doing these things," Colin took a deep breath before continuing. "Because I _am_ The Gaia Project," at revealing this, Colin turned back towards the first plant, seemingly at a loss for words after revealing the secret he had kept for so long.

Dr. Garretts on the other hand had no qualms about continuing. "You see, Colin has what we call attunement. He has the ability to feel the paths the earth is taking if he concentrates. He can predict weather more accurately than any computer, almost 100%. These plants, he knows exactly how to operate the vents in this room to keep every last one of them alive, just how much water to give them. And of course, how much sunlight." At this, he walked over to the hinged sections of the ceiling and opened one using a hooked pole, letting in a square beam of sunlight. "He doesn't hear their thoughts, for they don't really have them, but he understands exactly what they need. Just imagine it Tory! We could get rid of the need for weather prediction instruments, we could solve world hunger! All we would need is more people like Colin, enough to get around the world, and to educate people how to flawlessly nurture their crops. He isn't here all the time, yet because of his instructions I have been able to keep these plants alive without any attunement at all." Dr. Garretts at this point seemed to lose himself in his plans, mumbling to himself about future acquisitions. With a distracted farewell the doctor descended the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the narrow stairwell.

As the echoes retreated and silence saturated the air, Colin glanced back at Tory. He stared at Tory's face, and blushed, remembering the fight and what he had done. "Sorry about…that. I don't like people trying to control me and I just don't understand exactly where you fit in all of this. Because of my attunement I know you can do something, but you aren't like me." He reached towards Tory, and cupped his face, making him blush. "Are you ok? I don't know what came over me…I…" Colin started moving his face towards Tory but stopped suddenly, looking unsure. _What should I do? He attracts me somehow. I feel more alive when we touch, and I can't help but be excited when we see each other. The mystery is solved yet I don't want to leave. I don't want to be away from him! _

"It's alright, I'm fine, really. You hit like a girl," Tory jibed.

"Oh shut up," retorted Colin, but it was obvious he was looking at Tory differently than usual. His gaze was akin to the way he had admired the plants earlier. After starring for a few more moments he said, almost inaudibly, "It would make more sense if I _was_ a girl."


End file.
